Choosing an engine

Me and my dad are trying to build a mower for cruising, so mainly street but also off road for a little fun, but we are having trouble choosing an engine. We want one that will stay around 30-40 mph and HP is really no object but I would like enough for a good climb, also we want to stay around $300-500 but 500 is kind of pushing it. So if you know of a good engine please tell me:!:   

Most commonly available are Briggs And Stratton engines- available as L-head singles, OHV singles, L-head twins, and OHV twins. Pretty hard to go wrong with any of them, really. For what you want to do, probably shoot for 15hp and up.

FWIW- If you're aiming for such high speeds, upgrading the steering and braking systems are a must. The factory systems just are not designed to keep you safe at high speeds.

I would use a briggs opposed twin

ive got a 12.5 on mine, it does 43mph, and you can find them fairly cheap, it does ok off road, but even first is kinda fast, so i ride the clutch alot, lol. and i still got power, i can pull a trailer with a lawn mower on it twice its size fairly easily. and if i throw it in reverse and pop the clutch, i can light em up, lol

I would buy a Peerless 820, just to make sure it will stand up to the abuse. Maybe see about getting some internal gears for better ratios so you dont stress it as much. 14hp should do it, a twin anything will give you a ton of torque too.

I've used everything from a worn out 8hp, to a 20hp v-twin. They all would do 35mph with the right gearing. The 8hp took forever, but would do it. A 10 hp tec worked just fine, and 11hp briggs flatheads worked.

When we went to 14hp and above, we started to have transaxle problems, worn out bearings, bushings, broken gears, etc. I would suggest a decent transaxle, such as a 820 peerless, or 700 peerless and go kart rear axle, for the larger engines.

i took a 17.5 hp and did 40 with my turf tires. it just wanted to keep doin wheelies with all the torque it had

I've only and always used a opposed twins. They have alot of torque. And they can take good abuse.

Marines2621 wrote:

I've only and always used a opposed twins. They have alot of torque. And they can take good abuse.

Do that. They're tough and simple, no OHV junk. Lot's of torque. They do use a bit of gas compared to singles though.
Also, you can get a good running one for $250. You can use the extra money for a spare or something!

Where do u live gesss, I can get 21hp v twin for free-100bucks lol

i would look for a good oppsy or even a v-twin. both have tons of power, and if you loose a cylinder in the middle of a ride, you could limp home